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 Award Winning Reporter, Bruce Mirken, Heartened Found "Not Guilty" of Misdemeanor Porno Charge |
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Compiled By GayToday
The charge was a bizarre offshoot of Mirken's legal odyssey, which began last summer when he communicated via America Online with what he believed to a troubled gay teenager who might be the subject of a possible story.
Among these files were five images of underaged boys, which Mirken had apparently come across while surfing the Internet or which perhaps had been attached to an email message he received. All of the files had been deleted within 28 seconds of receipt. Although there was no evidence that Mirken had solicited the material or done anything other than dispose of it instantly, the San Francisco District Attorney's office went ahead and prosecuted him for possession of child porn. The defense and prosecution agreed to a non-jury trial before San Francisco Superior Court Judge Herbert Donaldson, and the brief trial began May 13--Mirken's 43rd birthday. The only witnesses were the officer who served the arrest warrant on Mirken last year and defense and prosecution computer experts. "This case was an absurdity from the get-go," Mirken said after the verdict. "Their expert witness and our expert witness actually agreed on all the key facts: I'd deleted all the contraband files within 28 seconds after downloading them. I didn't possess the software needed to retrieve them. There was no evidence that I'd copied them or saved them in any form, and there was no evidence that I'd sought this sort of material." Assistant District Attorney Christine Pelosi, daughter of Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), argued that the few seconds the material flashed across Mirken's computer screen was enough to constitute "possession"--despite a complete absence of any case law to back up such a contention. Mirken's attorney, Bruce Nickerson, commented, "If the judge had followed the prosecution's theory that momentary observation of any illegal material that the observer did not want or expect to receive is enough to constitute a crime, that would have a chilling effect on every person's right to explore what is on the Internet. The judge clearly understood that the law requires more than momentary observation followed by immediate deletion." As evidence of Mirken's alleged criminal intent, Pelosi had introduced into evidence a portion of the transcribed online chat between the reporter and the undercover officer, posing as a 14-year-old. But Judge Donaldson was unimpressed, succinctly observing, "The salacious part of the conversation appears to be from the police and not the defendant." Upon hearing the verdict, Mirken immediately went home and called his parents, who have stood by him throughout his ordeal and helped pay his skyrocketing legal bills. His mother, in the terminal stages of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease which has left her virtually unable to breathe, was unable to come to the phone, so his father promised to relay the message when she was more alert. "My mom may not live to see me vindicated in Sacramento," Mirken said. "I desperately wanted to at least win this one while she is still alive so she can have a little bit of peace and know there's a light at the end of the tunnel. That's some small comfort at least." Mirken's trial on the Sacramento charge is set for June 10 at 8:30 AM in Dept. 8 in the Sacramento courthouse, located near the state capitol. Mirken is eager to proceed with the Sacramento trial. "I'm looking forward to finally getting the chance to tell the story in full," he said. "If we can get a fair jury, I'm confident they'll see through the smoke and mirrors of the prosecution's case, just as Judge Donaldson did here." Bruce Mirken's expenses related to the case have now passed the $50,000 mark and may well exceed $60,000 before a verdict is reached. Donations payable to the Bruce Mirken Legal Defense Fund can be sent to P.O. Box 14954, San Francisco, CA 94114. Information is available on the Web at www.void.org/~claudius/BruceMirken/. |
